{"id":180573,"date":"2026-09-03T07:29:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T05:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/?p=180573"},"modified":"2026-08-27T14:29:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T12:29:45","slug":"aio-and-tftak-secure-e1-94m-to-make-microbial-oil-production-faster-smarter-and-more-competitive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/aio-and-tftak-secure-e1-94m-to-make-microbial-oil-production-faster-smarter-and-more-competitive\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00c4IO and TFTAK secure \u20ac1.94M to make microbial oil production faster, smarter and more competitive!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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The DigiFoundry 2.0 project will combine improved fermentation, automation, digitalisation and advanced biotechnology to make the production of fermentation-derived oils and fats more efficient, scalable and cost-competitive. Building on three years of research by \u00c4IO and TFTAK, the project aims to create an integrated digital biomanufacturing platform capable of turning local food and wood industry side-streams into high-value ingredients for cosmetics, food and other consumer products.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00c4IO, Estonian biotechnology company and applied research organisation\u00a0TFTAK<\/a>\u00a0have launched DigiFoundry 2.0 \u2013 Bioprocess Efficiency Increase via Digitalisation<\/strong>\u00a0(DF2.0), a three-year research and development project focused on developing next-generation technologies for microbial oil production.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project has received \u20ac1.94 million in funding through the Applied Research Programme (RUP<\/a>) of the Estonian Business and Innovation Agency (EIS<\/a>), with a total project budget of approximately \u20ac2.53 million. \u00c4IO\u2019s project was ranked first among the applications approved<\/strong> in the programme\u2019s 10th funding round. The Applied Research Programme is funded by the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

DF2.0 builds on the results of the original DigiFoundry project, a collaboration between \u00c4IO and TFTAK that ran from 2023 to 2026. The first project focused on creating a prototype platform for automated microbial strain design and establishing a Design-Build-Test-Learn cycle to accelerate the development of microorganisms capable of producing specialised fats through precision fermentation. The project also included pilot-scale precision fermentation, sensory analysis, and techno-economic assessment of the production process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new project takes this work to the next level by connecting biological development with improved fermentation, automation, and digital process control. Its goal is to establish the technological foundation for efficient, scalable, and cost-competitive production <\/strong>of \u00c4IO\u2019s microbial oils while reducing both development and manufacturing costs and enabling faster development of new ingredients. <\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWith DigiFoundry, we built the foundation. With DF2.0, we are connecting biology, fermentation and digitalisation into one integrated production system,\u201d\u00a0says\u00a0Prof. Petri-Jaan\u00a0Lahtvee, Co-founder and COO of \u00c4IO<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0and Professor at Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech).\u00a0\u201cOur goal is to make microbial oil production not only sustainable, but also highly efficient and economically competitive at an industrial scale. By combining improved fermentation with automation and data-driven process development, we can learn faster, optimise faster, and ultimately produce better ingredients with fewer resources.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u00c4IO develops fermentation technologies that transform low-value organic side-streams from the food, agricultural and wood industries into high-value oils and fats.<\/strong> Instead of relying on traditional oil crops or animal-derived fats, microorganisms are used as highly efficient biological production platforms. This approach makes it possible to create alternative sources of fats and oils while reducing dependence on agricultural land, climate conditions, and long global supply chains. \u00c4IO\u2019s technology can use locally available industrial side-streams as fermentation feedstocks, creating an opportunity to connect local side-streams with local production of valuable ingredients. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The technology is designed to provide alternatives to conventional ingredients such as tropical oils and animal fats, with potential applications across cosmetics, food, and other industries. \u00c4IO\u2019s fermentation process can reduce land use by up to 97% and water consumption by up to 90% compared with conventional production methods<\/strong>, according to company data. This sustainability positioning is consistent with \u00c4IO\u2019s previous RUP and scale-up work.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Digitalisation at \u00c4IO is an important part of making precision fermentation commercially viable. Biological processes generate large amounts of data, from microbial performance and fermentation conditions to productivity and product characteristics. Connecting these data points through automated and digital systems can shorten development cycles, improve process control, and help translate laboratory discoveries into reproducible industrial production. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe future of biotechnology is not only about engineering better microorganisms. It is about creating smarter processes around them,\u201d\u00a0Lahtvee<\/strong> adds.\u00a0\u201cIf we can understand and control fermentation in real time, we can use resources more efficiently, reduce production costs and adapt the process much faster to different raw materials and products. That is an important step towards making fermentation-derived fats and oils a real industrial alternative.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

DF2.0 continues the research partnership between \u00c4IO and TFTAK, an Estonian privately owned research organisation focused on accelerating food and biotechnology innovation. TFTAK works across bioprocess optimisation, food research, analytics and product development, supporting projects from laboratory research and pilot-scale development through to testing in industrial production. In the original DigiFoundry project, TFTAK contributed to developing the Design-Build-Test-Learn workflow and methods for evaluating microbial products, including sensory analysis and identification of unwanted flavours and aromas. The collaboration also supported the development of synthetic biology capabilities and microbial screening methods.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In DF2.0, TFTAK will continue contributing its\u00a0expertise\u00a0in synthetic biology, precision\u00a0fermentation\u00a0and bioprocess development to help connect strain engineering with increasingly automated and data-driven production.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cDF2.0 brings together two areas that are essential for the next generation of industrial biotechnology: advanced biology and intelligent process development,\u201d\u00a0says\u00a0Dr. Steven van der Hoek, Scientific Lead at TFTAK<\/strong><\/a>.\u00a0\u201cBy integrating synthetic biology, fermentation and digital tools, we can generate much more information from every development cycle and use that knowledge to make the next cycle better. This collaboration allows us to build technologies that are scientifically ambitious but, importantly, designed from the beginning with industrial application in mind.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Dr. van der Hoek leads a TFTAK team developing synthetic biology tools and strain-engineering capabilities with a particular focus on precision fermentation.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project comes as \u00c4IO moves from technology development towards broader commercial production. Since its establishment as a TalTech spin-off in 2022, the company has progressed from laboratory fermentation to tonne-scale production and is developing partnerships for larger-scale manufacturing. The original DigiFoundry programme reflected an important part of \u00c4IO\u2019s long-term business model: developing specialised microbial strains capable of producing tailored fats and oils through precision fermentation. The platform was designed to make strain development faster and more efficient, with the resulting microorganisms intended both for \u00c4IO\u2019s own production and potentially for technology licensing.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

DF2.0 expands that concept from the microorganism itself to the entire production process. By integrating strain development, improved fermentation and digitalisation, \u00c4IO aims to establish a production platform that can accelerate the development of new ingredients while simultaneously lowering the cost of bringing them to industrial scale. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cDF2.0 is about turning\u00a0side-streams\u00a0into the oils of tomorrow,\u201d\u00a0Lahtvee<\/strong>\u00a0concludes.\u00a0\u201cLocal industries already generate valuable carbon-rich side-streams\u00a0and biotechnology gives us\u00a0tools\u00a0to turn those resources into something new. With\u00a0digitalisation\u00a0and automation, we can make that transformation faster,\u00a0smarter,\u00a0and more competitive and build a new generation of ingredients produced locally from resources we already have.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The DigiFoundry 2.0 \u2013 Bioprocess Efficiency Increase via Digitalisation (DF2.0) project runs from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2029. Its total budget is \u20ac2,531,405, of which a maximum of \u20ac1,944,909.40 is provided through the EIS Applied Research Programme.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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About \u00c4IO\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

\u00c4IO is an Estonian biotechnology company pioneering the production of sustainable fats and oils through innovative fermentation processes. Founded in 2022 as a spin-off from Tallinn University of Technology (TalTech) by bioengineers Prof. Petri-Jaan\u00a0Lahtvee\u00a0and Dr. Nemailla Bonturi, \u00c4IO transforms agricultural, food and wood industry side-streams into high-value ingredients\u00a0(functional oils and fats)\u00a0for the cosmetics, food and other industries\u00a0using\u00a0specialised\u00a0yeast fermentation.\u00a0https:\/\/aio.bio\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About TFTAK<\/strong>\u00a0<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

TFTAK is an Estonian privately owned research\u00a0organisation\u00a0with a mission to accelerate food and biotechnology innovation. Its\u00a0expertise\u00a0covers bioprocess\u00a0optimisation, food research, analytics, precision fermentation, sensory and consumer\u00a0studies,\u00a0and product development. TFTAK supports research and development from\u00a0initial\u00a0concepts and laboratory work through pilot-scale development and testing in industrial production, with a focus on creating sustainable and scalable technologies that can be implemented in real-world applications.\u00a0https:\/\/tftak.eu\/\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The DigiFoundry 2.0 project will combine improved fermentation, automation, digitalisation and advanced biotechnology to make the production of fermentation-derived oils and fats more efficient, scalable and cost-competitive. Building on three years of research by \u00c4IO and TFTAK, the project aims to create an integrated digital biomanufacturing platform capable of turning local food and wood industry […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":180596,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","nova_meta_subtitle":"The Applied Research\u00a0Programme\u00a0is funded by the Estonian Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications","footnotes":""},"categories":[5572],"tags":[13462,16171,12615,5817,5528],"supplier":[24901,24903,26734,28447],"class_list":["post-180573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bio-based","tag-biooil","tag-fermentation","tag-microbes","tag-research","tag-sustainability","supplier-aio","supplier-center-of-food-and-fermentation-technologies-tftak","supplier-estonian-business-and-innovation-agency-eis","supplier-estonian-ministry-of-economic-affairs-and-communications"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/59"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180573"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":180616,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180573\/revisions\/180616"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/180596"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180573"},{"taxonomy":"supplier","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/renewable-carbon.eu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/supplier?post=180573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}